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The Walsh Catalog of Roses |
Michael Walsh was born in Wales January 18, 1848 and arrived in the United States in 1875. He had already earned an education in horticulture and was an experienced gardener before his arrival. By the turn of the century, after working under several employers in this country, he became the head gardener of the Joseph S. Fay estate in Woods Hole. There he ran a very successful rose business from greenhouses on the Fay family property with the encouragement of Mr. Fay and in partnership his daughter, Sara B. Fay. The Fay estate dedicated three acres to growing thousands of roses serving as a test bed for ramblers and other types of roses and a repository for the roses used in the hybridizing by Mr. Walsh. This property was located at the head of little harbor. The house is still there, although the gardens are now gone. Today the house is called Challenger House and is part of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute. A memorial stone and a small garden of his ramblers was erected in 1943 on land given by the Fay estate between Challenger house and the Woods Hole Historical Museum. Five of Mr. Walsh's roses are on display along a split rail fence. This garden is now part of the Woods Hole Historical Society. Michael Walsh died in Woods Hole April 10, 1922 at the age of 74. Mr. Walsh, although famous for his development of the Cape Cod rambler roses, also hybridized other types of roses particularly hybrid teas which were, at the time, just beginning to become popular. He was the recipient of the Gold Medal for the hybrid perpetual 'Jubilee,' introduced in 1897 and during his rose career was the recipient of numerous First Prizes, Certificates of Merit and four Silver Medals. He was an active member of the American Rose Society and many mentions of him can be found in their journal The American Rose Annual. |
